Arsenal come close to Munich miracle!

Bayern qualifies for the Champions League quarter-final, but Arsenal regained a sense of pride after the 0:2 victory over Munich at the Allianz Arena.

Olivier Giroud gave Arsenal a form of hope in the 3rd minute, when an early surge from the Gunners saw some great build up play, when Rosicky found Theo Walcott on the winger who drilled in a low cross that found Giroud in the six yard box to finish from close range. Arsenal were shortly forced to weather the storm when an impressive offensive display for Munich saw Lukasz Fabianski tested on several occasions to keep the London side in the game. Toni Kroos tested Fabianski with an accurate 25 yard strike that was dealt with by the Arsenal keeper. Luiz Gustavo, who replaced suspended Bastian Schweinsteiger, sent a strike sailing over the bar. Arsenal continued to remind Bayern of the threat they possessed using Theo Walcott as the main outlet on the right hand side and using Rosicky as a distributer in the center of the pitch.

Arsenal still needed to score 2 more goals to see them through and eliminate the chance of away goals coming into the equation. Bayern came out in the second half as the stronger team and came close after chances from Arjen Robben and Toni Kroos. Arsenal was given a breather when Rosicky was fouled around 25 yards out, but Carzola fire the free kick straight into the wall. The 70th minute saw Arsene Wenger introduce Oxlade-Chamberlin and Gervinho, who replaced Walcott and Ramsey. It was Koscielny who gave Arsenal the final chance when he headed home from a corner making the score line 3-3 on aggregate, but they still needed one more goal to qualify into the Quarter finals. Despite the continuous attack from the Gunners, they couldn’t find the final goal and it was the Germans who progressed into the next round.

Bayern’s formidable record against English clubs was ended, that saw Bayern Munich unbeaten at home since 1993, when Norwich City won in the Olympic Stadium (UEFA Cup). The quarter final draw will take place on Friday at 12:00 CET.